The Quiller Memorandum (Blu-ray/July 28th): "George Segal gives a bravura performance as an unorthodox secret agent on the run from a neo-Nazi organisation in this stylish 1966 espionage thriller directed in West Berlin by Michael Anderson. Tautly scripted by Harold Pinter, this multiple BAFTA-nominated film also features Alec Guinness, Max von Sydow and Senta Berger. The Quiller Memorandum is featured here in a High Definition transfer made from original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. SPECIAL FEATURES (HD except where indicated): Contemporary interviews recorded on location in Berlin with George Segal, Alec Guinness, Senta Berger, Max von Sydow, director Michael Anderson and producer Ivan Foxwell (Standard Definition); Original theatrical trailer; Four image galleries, including extensive promotional and behind-the-scenes shots; Promotional material PDFs." Network page here.
The Ipcress File (Blu-ray/July 28th): "Featuring a quintessential performance from multiple Oscar-winner Sir Michael Caine and an iconic score from the legendary John Barry, this stylised and compelling 1965 Cold War spy movie won multiple awards on its theatrical release - including three BAFTAs. The Ipcress File is featured here in a High Definition transfer made from original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. Harry Palmer, a stubbornly insolent sergeant working for the Ministry of Defence, is less than thrilled to be transferred to an elite counter-intelligence unit under threat of blackmail. Palmer and the rest of his unit follow the trail of a missing scientist, but when he finds a piece of tape marked "IPCRESS" in an abandoned warehouse he suddenly becomes a marked man. SPECIAL FEATURES: Michael Caine is Harry Palmer - exclusive interview with Sir Michael Caine; Exclusive interview with production designer Sir Ken Adam; Commentary with director Sidney Furie and film editor Peter Hunt; Michael Caine Goes Stella comedy short; 1969 documentary: Candid Caine; Original theatrical trailer and US radio commercials; Stills gallery." Network page here.
Ring of Spies (DVD/July 21st): "There have always been spies men and women who have pried for patriotism, for religion, for love... or for money. This intriguing drama is based on the true story of the Portland spy ring an unlikely Soviet operation active in southern England from the late 1950s until January 1961 when the core members were arrested. Directed by TV drama veteran Robert Tronson in 1964, Ring of Spies stars Bernard Lee (best known as Ian Fleming s M ) William Sylvester, Thorley Walters and BAFTA winners Margaret Tyzack and David Kossoff. It is presented here in a brand-new digital transfer. An antiquarian bookseller and his wife; a disgruntled, hard-drinking naval clerk and the lonely secretary he recruits; a polished Soviet agent who assumes the identity of a dead Canadian citizen: the players in a familiar Cold War story of hidden cameras, dead-letter drops and a long-range radio calling Moscow Central. A duel between Soviet intelligence and British counter-espionage, and a trade in deadly secrets directed from a bungalow in suburban Ruislip, hidden for years from unsuspecting neighbours and British spy catchers." Network page here.
S*P*Y*S (DVD/July 14th): "Before Austin Powers, before Johnny English, there were S*P*Y*S! Capitalising on the huge success of their onscreen pairing in M*A*S*H, in 1974 this highly enjoyable espionage spoof reunited Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould as a couple of bungling Paris-based American agents walking a tightrope in a paranoiac world of peepholes and booby-traps. Filmed largely in Paris and London, co-starring Joss Ackland and featuring the English language debut of French icon Zouzou, S*P*Y*S is presented here in a brand-new digital transfer from original film elements. CIA misfits Douglas Griffin and Eric Brulard are unaware of each other's existence until both turn up at the same pissoir in search of a mysterious hidden package. When the urinal immediately explodes, each is convinced that the other is a KGB assassin!" Network page here.
Counterspy (DVD/July 7th): "This fast-paced 1953 comedy thriller stars Dermot Walsh as a mild-mannered young accountant forced to go on the run after unwittingly coming into possession of coveted top-secret plans. Also featuring Bill Travers, Oscar-nominated Hermione Baddeley and an early role for horror queen Hazel Court, Counterspy is presented here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. While perusing the books of an engineering company, fastidious auditor Frank Manning encounters rum goings on when he is approached by a woman who claiming she is being blackmailed. She begs him to find certain letters and he eventually agrees. Having obtained the letters, he takes them to a specified address where, to his horror, he finds a man, fully clothed, dead in the bath." Network page here.
Recent Spy Vibe posts: Batman News, Monty Python Fathom Spies, Monty Python Returns!, Rodney Marshall Avengers Interview, Avengers Book: Bowler Hats & Kinky Boots, George Lois Design & Mad Men, Richard Sala: Super-Enigmatix, The Spotnicks, Model Secret Agents, Remo Williams Blu-ray, Bunny Yeager and Ursula Andress, Danger Mouse, Lost Avengers Episodes, Big Fun Toys, Danger Diabolik Soundtrack, Mother's Day (Avengers), Mod Fashion Dolls, Cold War Archie, New Avengers Comic, Ipcress File Blu-ray, Playboy Bunny Interview, The 10th Victim Japanese and Kindle, U.N.C.L.E. Japanese Books, The 10th Victim German Edition, UNCLE Gun, The Saint books return, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton.
Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: new Fleming books, SE Asian 007, Cumberbatch as Ian Fleming, Fleming Jamaica Book, Bond Japanese Editions, Fleming Chinese Edition, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 50th, Ian Fleming: Mt. Demon Hell Japan, Collecting Fleming, Live and Let Die 60th, new poster announced, 007 Audio Books Update, Appropriating Bond Exhibit, Fleming Letters Mystery, The Goldfinger Variations, Double 007 Book Designs, Double 007 designs II, rare Ian Fleming edition, Book Design Dopplegangers, Turkish Bond design, Ian Fleming Letters, Erno Goldfinger, Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.
Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: new Fleming books, SE Asian 007, Cumberbatch as Ian Fleming, Fleming Jamaica Book, Bond Japanese Editions, Fleming Chinese Edition, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 50th, Ian Fleming: Mt. Demon Hell Japan, Collecting Fleming, Live and Let Die 60th, new poster announced, 007 Audio Books Update, Appropriating Bond Exhibit, Fleming Letters Mystery, The Goldfinger Variations, Double 007 Book Designs, Double 007 designs II, rare Ian Fleming edition, Book Design Dopplegangers, Turkish Bond design, Ian Fleming Letters, Erno Goldfinger, Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.